Facts

ONLINE AUCTION

Rita Crundwell, who stole $53.7 million, vacationed quietly for years at the house with white pillars.

"No one from Englewood is really aware this is going on in their backyard," said Jason Wojdylo, chief inspector for asset forfeitures with the U.S. Marshals Service.

Soon, the house at 821 E. Fifth St. — and everything inside it — will be up for sale as the federal government tries to collect the millions Crundwell took over a 21-year span when she worked in Dixon, Ill., a town of 15,000 some 100 miles west of Chicago and the childhood home of Ronald Reagan.

The furniture and bric-a-brac inside are appraised at $100,000, a hint of the lavish lifestyle Crundwell lived with the taxpayer money she stole.

Last month, Crundwell pleaded guilty to a federal fraud charge in U.S. District Court in Northern Illinois and agreed to pay Dixon $53,740,394 in restitution, according to the U.S. Marshals.

Crundwell, 59, the former city bookkeeper, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on Valentine's Day.

The neighbors on Fifth Street are a quiet bunch who knew Crundwell slightly or not at all. Most live year-round in residences that were built primarily as vacation homes.

Neighbor Dyan Preli heard rumors Crundwell had been arrested.

But she had no clue of the magnitude of what happened.

"I really don't know anything about it," Preli said.

Preli remembered watching the construction across the street as Crundwell's house rose.

"It was odd," Preli said, to see the two-story house with a Corvette parked on the driveway in the neighborhood that consists of smaller, ranch-style homes made of cinder blocks.

Crundwell paid $115,000 for the lot and built her place in 2009, complete with a decorative stone by the arched wooden front doors that dubs it La Hacienda. The 2,300-square-foot house is now valued at $287,315, according to the Charlotte County Property Appraiser's Office.

Inside, she decorated with Western-style furniture, like bar stools shaped as saddles — fitting for someone who was a big-time horse owner. Crundwell was a quarter horse breeder who won dozens of competitions.

She owned flashy cars, such as a black 2005 Ford Thunderbird and a red 1967 Chevrolet Corvette roadster.

The U.S. Marshals office seized all the furniture, three vehicles, a tractor and a boat and has them listed for sale in an online auction that runs Thursday through Friday.

The marshals have not received an offer for the house yet. If it stays empty, the federal government will list it with a real estate broker to go on the market in early 2013, Wojdylo said.

A broker who heard about the house was in the neighborhood on Monday afternoon to check it out.

'In the wrong place'

For many, the Englewood house is puzzling.

There are plenty of multimillion-dollar homes in Englewood near the waterfront, which would have been better fits for Crundwell's taste. Donna Summer and other celebrities were known to have lived in Englewood's more expensive waterfront neighborhoods.

Why would Crundwell build an upscale vacation house surrounded by one-story houses with much lower property values?

"It's a beautiful house, just in the wrong place," said Barry Goggins, the Englewood-based broker who went to see what the house looked like after reading Crundwell's story online.

The answer lies with the house directly across the street, the one with the red door. That is where the mother of Crundwell's boyfriend, Eleanor McKillips, lives.

On Monday, McKillips stood at the door and answered a few questions.

Crundwell was a nice person, always willing to help others, said McKillips, who does not use a computer and has avoided news coverage of the Crundwell case.

"The less I know about it, the better I feel," McKillips said. "I just hope she'll be all right. ... I don't know."

Wojdylo agrees with the real estate broker that Crundwell's house, located in a neighborhood where it does not seemingly belong, likely will not be sold for a top price: "Let's face it, when it comes to real estate it's location, location, location."

So far, the federal government has liquidated $7.4 million in Crundwell's assets, including her prized horses on her ranch back in Dixon, a luxury motor home and other items.

But the marshal's office acknowledges that a large portion of the money is gone forever. Crundwell spent thousands on steak dinners and entertainment, and paid full price for new cars that began to depreciate as soon as she drove them off the lot.

"There will be a lot of money we'll never be able to recover," Wojdylo said.

<p><em>CHARLOTTE COUNTY</em> - Few people in Englewood knew the Spanish-style house on a waterfront street was linked to the biggest government embezzlement case in U.S. history.</p><p>Rita Crundwell, who stole $53.7 million, vacationed quietly for years at the house with white pillars.</p><p>"No one from Englewood is really aware this is going on in their backyard," said Jason Wojdylo, chief inspector for asset forfeitures with the U.S. Marshals Service.</p><p>Soon, the house at 821 E. Fifth St. — and everything inside it — will be up for sale as the federal government tries to collect the millions Crundwell took over a 21-year span when she worked in Dixon, Ill., a town of 15,000 some 100 miles west of Chicago and the childhood home of Ronald Reagan.</p><p>The furniture and bric-a-brac inside are appraised at $100,000, a hint of the lavish lifestyle Crundwell lived with the taxpayer money she stole.</p><p>Last month, Crundwell pleaded guilty to a federal fraud charge in U.S. District Court in Northern Illinois and agreed to pay Dixon $53,740,394 in restitution, according to the U.S. Marshals. </p><p>Crundwell, 59, the former city bookkeeper, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on Valentine's Day.</p><p>The neighbors on Fifth Street are a quiet bunch who knew Crundwell slightly or not at all. Most live year-round in residences that were built primarily as vacation homes. </p><p>Neighbor Dyan Preli heard rumors Crundwell had been arrested.</p><p>But she had no clue of the magnitude of what happened.</p><p>"I really don't know anything about it," Preli said. </p><p>Preli remembered watching the construction across the street as Crundwell's house rose.</p><p>"It was odd," Preli said, to see the two-story house with a Corvette parked on the driveway in the neighborhood that consists of smaller, ranch-style homes made of cinder blocks.</p><p>Crundwell paid $115,000 for the lot and built her place in 2009, complete with a decorative stone by the arched wooden front doors that dubs it La Hacienda. The 2,300-square-foot house is now valued at $287,315, according to the Charlotte County Property Appraiser's Office.</p><p>Inside, she decorated with Western-style furniture, like bar stools shaped as saddles — fitting for someone who was a big-time horse owner. Crundwell was a quarter horse breeder who won dozens of competitions.</p><p>She owned flashy cars, such as a black 2005 Ford Thunderbird and a red 1967 Chevrolet Corvette roadster.</p><p>The U.S. Marshals office seized all the furniture, three vehicles, a tractor and a boat and has them listed for sale in an online auction that runs Thursday through Friday.</p><p>The marshals have not received an offer for the house yet. If it stays empty, the federal government will list it with a real estate broker to go on the market in early 2013, Wojdylo said.</p><p>A broker who heard about the house was in the neighborhood on Monday afternoon to check it out.</p><p><b>'In the wrong place'</p><p></b></p><p>For many, the Englewood house is puzzling.</p><p>There are plenty of multimillion-dollar homes in Englewood near the waterfront, which would have been better fits for Crundwell's taste. Donna Summer and other celebrities were known to have lived in Englewood's more expensive waterfront neighborhoods. </p><p>Why would Crundwell build an upscale vacation house surrounded by one-story houses with much lower property values? </p><p>"It's a beautiful house, just in the wrong place," said Barry Goggins, the Englewood-based broker who went to see what the house looked like after reading Crundwell's story online.</p><p>The answer lies with the house directly across the street, the one with the red door. That is where the mother of Crundwell's boyfriend, Eleanor McKillips, lives.</p><p>On Monday, McKillips stood at the door and answered a few questions. </p><p>Crundwell was a nice person, always willing to help others, said McKillips, who does not use a computer and has avoided news coverage of the Crundwell case.</p><p>"The less I know about it, the better I feel," McKillips said. "I just hope she'll be all right. ... I don't know."</p><p>Wojdylo agrees with the real estate broker that Crundwell's house, located in a neighborhood where it does not seemingly belong, likely will not be sold for a top price: "Let's face it, when it comes to real estate it's location, location, location."</p><p>So far, the federal government has liquidated $7.4 million in Crundwell's assets, including her prized horses on her ranch back in Dixon, a luxury motor home and other items. </p><p>But the marshal's office acknowledges that a large portion of the money is gone forever. Crundwell spent thousands on steak dinners and entertainment, and paid full price for new cars that began to depreciate as soon as she drove them off the lot.</p><p>"There will be a lot of money we'll never be able to recover," Wojdylo said.</p>